


ANGSTOBER 2020

by vverra



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angstober, Darth Vader's A+ parenting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I'll had more tags as they become relevant, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Padmé Amidala Lives, Past Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Past Relationship(s), So much angst, angstober2020, everyone is gonna need hugs in this damn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vverra/pseuds/vverra
Summary: A collection of one shots for Angstober 2020! All of the pieces will be centered around the galaxy's favorite dysfunctional family and their friends.
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 30
Kudos: 93
Collections: Angstober 2020





	1. Day 01: I Did It For You!

**Author's Note:**

> Padmé is fleeing from an Alliance base that has been attacked by Imperials when she's cornered by someone so achingly familiar and foreign at the same time.

Red illuminated the corridor in front of Padmé as she creeped cautiously down toward the hangar. Her blaster was raised and her hands were shaking, but she knew they would steady when she needed them to. They had never failed her before. Somewhere distantly, she could hear alarms blaring and the kind of screaming that only followed blaster shots. 

She quickened her pace and lightened her feet. 

Despite the sounds she could hear from afar, her area of the base was eerily abandoned. No rebellion compatriots crossed her path, or imperial stormtroopers. She felt selfishly grateful that neither had tried to follow her to escape. They would only slow her down. 

Unconsciously, she put her right hand over the pocket on her standard issue vest and pressed down firmly. Through the insulation, she could feel the distinct shape of data chips. It felt silly that everything needed to keep their Alliance alive could fit onto such small flimsy pieces of plastic. And she was the only one with the golden information. Mon Mothma had given them to her as she pushed Padmé toward the exit of the command center, Imperials already breaching the front gate. 

“ _ Go, _ ” Mon Mothma had barked, her hands steady as she tucked them into Padme’s pocket. “We’ll all leave through the Alpha hangar, you leave from Beta. It’s not on any of the schematics they’ll have of this base, they won’t know where to look for you.”

“Mon-”

But she was cut off by loud  _ BANG _ ! not far from the room they were in. It shook the ceiling lights and everyone wobbled, grabbing any solid service to keep on their feet. 

“Padmé, go! That’s an order!”

And so Padmé was off, alone, toward a hangar with the whole of the Rebellion in the pocket over her heart. 

A flurry of footsteps on the floor above her shook the walls around her. She tried to guess whether they were Imperial or Alliance. 

She quickened her steps again. 

Padmé peered around a corner to ensure the coast was clear before jogging down the length of the hallway to the blessed silver doors of her destination at the end. 

Another ten steps to a ship, she thought as she entered the access code to the monitor beside the hangar doors. Then a few more minutes before she can take off, and then a few after that until she’s clearing the atmosphere and on her way to meet up with Bail’s cells at their secondary base. 

Her fingers were steady on the keypad and immediately the door slid open for her. She could almost taste freedom. It was so close. 

Before she could step over the threshold, a coldness seemed to descend upon her from behind, like a gust of frigid winter wind. The mechanical sound of a respirator filled the air, coming from the way she had just come from.

_ No _ , Padmé thought desperately,  _ oh stars, please don’t do this to me now.  _

She took off through the open doors before her at a full sprint and pressed the release to close the doors behind her, but they refused to close. It had been a fruitless attempt to hold him back and she knew that even as she tried again before giving up and running toward the first ship she saw. 

Padmé didn’t hear him approach from behind her, but all at once she wasn’t running anymore. She was immobile in her spot, three steps from the closed ramp of her ship. So, so close. 

“Padmé,” a mechanical voice said. Her insides twisted painfully at the vocoder warped voice and she closed her eyes as she felt herself being turned around to face her capture. She couldn’t look at him.

For ten years, Padmé had managed to avoid coming face to face with Darth Vader; had avoided and outrun him like her life depended on it, which y’know, it probably did. Her life as she knew it depended on never having to bear witness to what her beloved husband had become. 

_ “You’re going down a path I cannot follow!”  _

She meant it then and she meant it now. 

“Padmé,” Darth Vader said again. Although the vocoder warped any emotion out of the voice, it sounded a fraction softer than last time. Padmé cringed. “Open your eyes.”   


“If you’re going to kill me, I’d rather die without my last sight being that of a monster.”  
Vader was quiet, the only sound being his respirator that whooshing steadily with artificial breathes. Padmé ached for its necessity. 

After a beat, he replied, “I have no plans to kill you.”

“You might as well. I won’t break under torture. You’ll have to kill me anyway.”

“I’m not going to torture you either.”

Again they lapsed into a suffocating silence, neither knowing what to say. They were strangers, as unfamiliar with each other as if they had never met. 

“Padmé,” he repeated, a third time. She heard his boots against the durasteel floor slowly approaching. “Open your eyes.”

The invisible hold on her retreated and she could move again. She dropped to her knees, suddenly weak with relief and terror. It was an odd sensation to feel both simultaneously. 

Her eyes were open now, and staring down at the empty floor in front of her until two black boots came close enough to fill her vision.

Padmé scrambled backwards, putting distance between herself and Darth Vader. He didn’t follow her retreat. 

Despite her wishes, her eyes traveled upward the length of his suit until it landed on the mask. The black, blank impenetrable facade that hid the injured man inside. Padmé felt sick looking into the red opaque glass that she knew hid her most favorite eyes in the world. 

Darth Vader reached to, she presumed, help her stand, but she got herself up before he could move another muscle and took another few steps back until she was knocking into the ship behind her. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it was going to jump out of her chest.

“Padmé,” Vader said, and she wished he would stop saying her name like that. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?” Padmé forced out. 

“To bring you back with me,” He replied, simply, like she was being purposely obtuse by asking.

Padmé just let out an incredulous laugh. “Do you really think I’m going to come with you? Why would I do that?”   


The mask tilted ever so slightly to the side in confusion. “Because you are my wife.”   


Padmé snarled. “I am not  _ your _ wife. I am the wife of Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. I don’t recall your name on our wedding certificate,  _ Darth Vader. _ ”   


She spit the words at him with malice. 

“Your argument relies solely on a flimsy justification. Any court would uphold the legality of our union.”

It was such a cold, clinical answer that Padmé could do nothing but stare at him, moth agape. Could this really be her Ani? It seemed so impossible. 

“I won’t come with you,” she repeated. 

“You will,” he snapped, curling one gloved hand into a fist. Padmé, on instinct, raised her hands to her neck. There was no pressure, but the memory flashed before her so vividly it was like she could feel the invisible fingers all over again

Upon seeing her reaction, Vader opened his hand instantly and his shoulders tensed. His posture almost suggested remorse, and Padmé figured it was because he remembered, too, the last time they were together. 

“I have searched for over a decade for you. I longed for you and-” 

“I never asked that of you.”

“Padmé, I apologize for my aggression that day, but I am willing to make amends if it brings you back to me.”

Padmé shook her head. These were rehearsed words, ones he had obviously been preparing for while. But they rang hollow in her. She wasn’t going to cry, not now, not like last time. Nonetheless, she felt her eyes begin to sting. Not with tears of sadness, but with anger. 

“How can I go with you after what you’ve done? After you’ve destroyed everything I loved?” 

“The Republic was weak.” Vader argued, hate filling demeanor where there had just been remorse. “Its continued existence did nothing for the galaxy but spiral it further and further into chaos.”

“That’s not true! And if it was, it’s because Palpatine manipulated it to be so!” She fumed.

“The emperor strengthened the galaxy against-”

“He destroyed it! You honestly think this is better? This war and fear?” 

Vader took a step toward her. “It is your rebellion that creates this war. If it didn’t continue to ignite civil disobedience, we would be in peace.”

Padmé threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “It was the Sith who started this war in the first place with the separatists! Or did you just forget that whole war you fought in with Obi-wan and-”   


T he air around her dropped several degrees in a moment. “Do not speak about him! He turned you against me!”

“Obi-wan did not,” she pushed back, “you did that with your own actions!”   


Vader snarled, but the sound came out odd through the vocoder. “The Jedi were corrupt and the Republic was flawed. The empire will stand stronger than either. You could stand by my side in this new beginning.”   


The figure in front of her stood so sure in his convictions, she knew she would never be able to change his mind, no matter how delusional they were. There wasn’t even a small chance she could stand beside him, every time she closed her eyes she saw the faces of the younglings she knew he slaughtered and the faceless bodies of the hundreds more she knows have followed. 

“I won’t go with you.” She said, more calmly than she felt. “I’ll kill myself before I stand at the side of a monster.”

Padmé raised her forgotten blaster to her chest, level with her heart. If it came to it, she would pull the trigger. She would destroy the data chips and stop her heart with one shot and she would be happier than if she stood beside Darth Vader as his wife. 

Vader didn’t move, but she could see his hands twitching by his side. If he tried to use the Force to pull the blaster away, she would pull the trigger faster than he could act. He knew this and so he hesitated. 

Their stand-off lasted no longer than a minute, at most, but it felt like forever. All around them, a war was waging on, but they were having a war of their own in here. 

It was Vader who broke the silence first. He turned away from her and took a few steps, his posture radiating tension. 

“I-,” he started, before stopping. He seemed to be weighing his words carefully in a way she wasn’t sure he had had to do in so many years. 

“I did it for you,” he said, quieter, turning back to her. “I did it for you. And for the baby. To make a better galaxy for the two of you.”

Padmé froze. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not that Vader hadn’t brought up their baby yet. It seemed to pain him to do so, but what he felt could never compare to what she did. 

_ To make a better galaxy for the two of you. _

Three of us, she thought bitterly, but didn’t say aloud. The twins were a secret she had to keep above all else. 

“Well you didn’t,” she hissed instead, cold fury leaking into her voice. “You made it a galaxy I would never have wanted to raise a family in.”

Padmé chose her words carefully. 

“The baby,” Vader began, “did it-”

“Dead.” Padme kept her voice steady. She was sure he could feel her anguish through the Force but he would be misinterpreting it. They were hidden not only from him, but from her as well. For their safety. They were as good as dead to her. “In your anger, you took our baby away from me. I won’t forgive you for that.” 

Vader stood as still as a statue, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. 

“And,” she continued, propelled by her anger. “You will have to kill me now, because I will never come with you willingly.”   


Still, Vader remained unmoving, half turned away from her. She waited for his next attempt to sway her. 

Just then, an explosion from nearby shook the hangar and Padmé was reminded that they were under attack and the importance of her thwarted escape. She sent a silent apology to Mon Mothma and the rest of the Alliance for her failure. 

Vader tilted his mask minutely toward the commotion. 

“Stormtroopers are near and headed this way.”   


Padmé remained silent, waiting, with a gun pressed to her chest. 

“You must go now if you wish to avoid them.” 

Her breath caught in her throat.

“What?”

“If they see you, they will shoot to kill. You just go.” Vader waved a hand and the loading ramp on the small ship extended, the engine coming to life with a warm-up cycle running. 

She couldn’t follow what was happening. “You’re letting me go?” 

Vader kept his head turned away from her. “You will not come with me willingly, and I will not kill you or keep you as my slave. Therefore, you must go.”

Padmé was shocked silent. But at the sound of another explosion rocking the floor beneath them and the approaching sound of footsteps, she was spurred into action before he changed his mind. Padmé hurried up the ramp and into the ship.

When she reached the top, she turned back to gaze at the black shadowed figure that still was turned away from her. In that moment, she ached so much for Anakin that she almost took a step back in Vader’s direction. 

But Padmé knew her duty and so she stayed firmly at the top of the ramp. This was good-bye for them. She wasn’t sure if they would ever cross paths again, and because of that she called out. 

“Anakin.”

The mask turned in her direction, tentatively. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you needed it. I know there is still good in you, but I can’t help you find it.” She stopped when the lump in her throat became too much.

Vader just stared at her. 

She took a shuddering breath, the tears that had been building the whole time began to spill down her cheeks.

“I love you. Good-bye, Ani.” 

And with that, she pressed the button and the ramp retracted. Padmé hurried to the cockpit and strapped herself in. 

A minute later she was taking off, disappearing into the night that had fallen on the planet of their now defunct base. 

Padmé didn’t dare look back, didn’t trust herself to not be overcome with emotion. But regardless, she knew there would be eyes following her escape until she was nothing more than speck in the sky, another unreachable star millions of miles away and untouchable. 

  
  



	2. Day 02: Stolen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin deals with the fallout of the chaos at the Zygerrian Court. Obi-wan gives him the nudge he needs to talk about what's eating at him.

Obi-wan found Anakin exactly where he expected to. Whether he was disappearing to sulk after a frustrating council meeting, or simply to think, Anakin was predictable in his destination. Wordlessly, Obi-wan lowered himself beside his former Padawan. He was certain Anakin had felt him coming, but he did not acknowledge Obi-wan’s presence. He continued to stare out the large observatory window in front of them, arms wrapped tightly around his knees.

Obi-wan figured he would be the one tasked with rolling the ball on their conversation, he didn’t think Anakin planned on opening up any time sooner. 

A comet shot past the window, farout in distant space. Obi-wan cleared his throat to speak, but Anakin surprised him by beating him to it. 

“My mother used to make wishes on shooting stars,” Anakin whispered. “She’d make me do it, too. She used to say that if you were lucky enough to see one, you needed to pick up a rock, hold it tight, close your eyes, and make your wish. All before it disappeared from the sky. It was surprisingly hard to do. For all Tatooine's sand, it was actually pretty hard to find real rocks sometimes.”

There was silence after that. The Force around Anakin was a swirling tornado of contradicting emotions that Obi-wan didn’t need their shared bond to recognize, yet couldn’t quite pindown. Although Anakin was shielding, he was sure Ahsoka and Plo Koon could feel it wherever they were on the cruiser, too. Anakin shaped the Force so completely when he was around, it was impossible not to notice it.

“What would she wish for?” Obi-wan asked when it was obvious Anakin was done sharing. 

Anakin shrugged. “She told me the wishes were secrets between your heart and the heart of the universe and couldn’t be spoken allowed. I never told her my wishes either, although I’m sure they were the same.”

_She wished we were free._

Obi-wan didn’t need Anakin to say it aloud and wouldn’t make him. Instead he asked:

“Have you been thinking of your mother a lot?”

Again, Anakin shrugged, but didn’t respond. 

“Because it's not surprising that this last assignment might have brought back some unpleasant memories for you,” Obi-wan offered gently. 

He had pleaded behind closed doors to the council to take Anakin off the assignment before they went undercover in the Zygerrian Court; asked them to call him back on the pretense of something more pressing. But the council was unwavering in their decision, claiming Anakin was necessary to the operation. 

_“He understands the way these people think better than any of us,” Ki-Adi-Mundi had argued. “There is no one as informed on slaver culture.”_

Obi-wan had blanched at that. Anakin wasn’t ‘informed on slaver culture,’ he was a former slave, there was a major difference. He told the council this, and still they remained unmoving on their decision. 

Now they were dealing with the fallout. 

“Obi-wan, you don’t need to worry about me,” Anakin said, guessing Obi-wan’s intentions. “I’m fine.”

Obi-wan wasn’t convinced. “Are you certain about that? You’ve been sitting here for over three hours now.”  
“I just needed to think, that’s all.”

“About your mom? About Zygerria?” Obi-wan pushed, hoping to get Anakin to rise to the bait. If he could get Anakin unsettled, he could get him to talk about this, whether he wanted to or not. 

“Bug off, Obi-wan.” Anakin snapped, his arms tightening around his knees. There was a bead of sweat shining on Anakin’s forehead. Obi-wan was freezing on the durasteel floor. “I just wanted to be alone for a bit, that’s not a crime.”

“Anakin, it’s nothing to be ashamed about. Those people stole you and your mother and stripped you of your freedom. I know I’ve tried to help you to put it behind you, but it’s okay to still be bothered about it as long as you do not dwell on those grievances of your past and let them define you moving forward.”

Anakin laughed, sharp and humorless. It pierced the otherwise silent hallway they were settled in and sent a spike of unease through the Force. 

“‘Grievances of my past?’ Obi-wan, I was a _slave._ Somebody _owned_ me, do you understand what that means?” 

“Yes, but-”

“There’s no ‘but’ about that!” Anakin snapped, turning to meet Obi-wan’s cautious gaze. His eyes were red rimmed, but dry. He looked tired and Obi-wan wondered if he’d slept at all in the past few days, even before the mess at the slave court.

“Gardulla beat my mom once because a handle broke on the basket she was carrying. Nothing broke, and my mom repaired the basket, but she still beat her. I couldn’t see her for a week because the other slave women didn’t want me to see how bad it was.” Obi-wan kept silent as Anakin sucked in a shuddering breath. “Then she beat me because she was still mad, but probably thought if she beat my mom anymore she’d kill her. I was six. The irony was I finally got to see her again, but only because I was lying right beside her having my wounds treated too.”

Obi-wan had, over the years, frequently seen the criss-crossing lines on Anakin’s back and shoulders, and wondered which of the thin red lines were from this occasion. 

“I’m sorry, Anakin,” Obi-wan said softly, sending as much comfort as he thought Anakin would allow across the bond.

Every line of Anakin’s posture was pulled taut. Obi-wan tried again.

“When I was in the processing facility with the Togurtas,” he began, “it was the closest I’ve ever been to understanding what it’s like to be a slave. It was degrading and soul-crushing and I was barely there for a day. You spent the first ten years of your life surviving it. That won’t go away overnight. It’s okay to have setbacks.”

The words hung between them awhile before Anakin responded, thoughtfully. “There was a slave girl at the palace, the queen’s handmaiden. She jumped off the roof and killed herself because they said she might have to go back there.” His jaw clenched, and Obi-wan could practically see the words stick in his throat. “I couldn’t save her with the Force, it would have given me away, but I tried to yell at her to stop and I couldn’t convince her.” 

“Anakn, it’s not your fault she-”

But, Anakin just shook his head. “I don’t think it’s my fault she jumped, she’d obviously been planning that for a while. I wouldn’t have been able to change her mind. It’s just, when she jumped-I felt, almost, glad for her.”

Obi-wan just looked at him, shocked.

“She just wanted to be free,” Anakin barreled on, trying to make Obi-wan understand, “and she never would be in this galaxy. At least in death, she wouldn’t be a slave any longer. She’d be one with the Force and free of suffering.”

And although Obi-wan couldn’t understand that, he also knew he couldn’t judge it. He didn’t have the right, he’d never been a slave; never had to think that way about his life. He told Anakin this. 

There was no reply, but Obi-wan didn’t expect there to be one. Anakin had shared enough and Obi-wan wasn’t likely to get much more out of him. Together, they looked out into the inky blackness of space, and Obi-wan thought he felt the Force settle a little around them.

Obi-wan passed the time half-meditating, and half keeping an eye on Anakin, who, surprisingly, seemed to be skirting around meditation as well. Obi-wan didn’t want to disrupt his new found calmess, but figured they could both do with some food. He stood up slowly, mindful of the lingering soreness in his muscles. He grasped Anakin’s shoulder lightly. 

“Come,” he said. “Let’s get dinner. We’re going to have a long day tomorrow with the Council.”

Anakin stayed frozen only a moment longer, before getting up to wordlessly follow Obi-wan. 

They continued in silence to the mess hall. But, just before Obi-wan could push upon the doors, Anakin stopped him with a hug. 

“Thank you,” Anakin said. 

“I am always here for you, my friend.”

“No, not for today, although I appreciate that as well,” he corrected, “for all those years ago when you and Qui-Jonn freed me. If you hadn’t showed up, I probably would have ended up like that slave girl.”

He broke off the hug then, leaving Obi-wan frozen as Anakin continued into the mess hall. He had never been more thankful to be a Jedi.

  
  



	3. Day 03: Memory Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The galaxy's been in peace for 15 years since Palpatine's disappearance, but rumors of a new Sith apprentice on an Outer Rim planet brings Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi to investigate. 
> 
> Padawan Luke was told to stay behind, but he's not one for following the rules. He sneaks aboard the ship and gets more than he bargained for when he finds him facing down the Sith apprentice by himself.

_ I really should have just stayed in the ship,  _ Luke thought as he dove behind a fallen tree to avoid another projectile thrust at the back of his head. He didn’t stay down for long, despite the burning in his lungs, he had to keep going; back to the ship; back to his father and Master Obi-wan; back where he was  _ supposed _ to be. 

Well, technically, he wasn’t supposed to be there either, but that was a moot point now because he was here, on this backwater planet that reeked of the Dark Side with some apparent mask-wearing Sith apprentice throwing fruit the size of mouse droids at his head. 

“Come back, boy! Come back and fight me like a real Jedi would!” 

“Technically,” Luke called over his shoulder, “I’m not a Jedi yet. I’m a Padawan!” 

The snarl that came from behind him sounded too close, so Luke pushed himself to move faster through the trees. The Sith was small, smaller than him, but, kriff, he was quick. Luke wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this pace and his exhaustion was making him clumsy. It was his concentrated connection in the Force that kept him from stumbling over protruding roots and other forest floor debris. 

Luke sensed the lightsaber a moment before it took his head clean off. He stopped running and ducked, letting the Sith over shoot him, and brought his own saber up to block the second slash that came quickly after the first. 

Red and Green collided and the forest around them seemed to shake with the strength of their impact. Luke stared into the red-tinted eye-glass of the mask of his opponent and thought he should feel anger and the will to destroy this Sith before they could help resurrect the Sith dynasty that disappeared the night Chancellor Palpatine did. For sixteen years, the Republic galaxy had known and lived in peace. All, except the Jedi, who knew that Darth Sidious was lurking somewhere, planning until he was strong enough again to return. 

Here was the very tangible proof of that theory; a Sith apprentice who was young and healthy. And Luke had the unfortunate honor of being the one he’d found first, and not the fully trained Jedi who were actually assigned to this mission. Great.

But, as Luke held firm against the strength of the Sith, he couldn’t muster the will to destroy the Sith that he knew he should. The only thing his head was screaming at him was that this wasn’t right. He and the Sith shouldn’t be fighting. They should be on the same side.

Unsettled by these intrusive thoughts in his head, Luke used the Force to push the Sith off of him. The apprentice stumbled back, but recovered quickly. Luke expected him to immediately attack again but Luke could sense that he was feeling conflicted, too, about attacking him. 

And that confused Luke even more. Why could he feel what the Sith was feeling? It didn’t feel like a slip in either of their shielding, it felt like something…  _ more _ than that. 

Their hesitancy toward each other didn’t last long. They were sworn enemies, despite the wrongness the Force was shoving down their throats. Soon, they both seemed to recover and were at each other’s necks again. 

Back and forth they traded blows as they cut a path through the dense forest around them. Every time their sabers collided Luke felt more and more sure they shouldn’t be doing this and it was making his head split. The Force was in turmoil, shock waves were reverberating around them as it screamed warnings at the two of them and begged them to stop fighting. 

It was impossible for one of them to gain ground on the other. Luke knew exactly where the Sith’s saber was going to hit, exactly where their feet were going to move next. In one sense, it was incredibly frustrating: Luke had no idea how either of them were supposed to gain the upper hand and or win this fight.

But at the same time, it felt kind of electrifying. 

They were dancing, more than fighting. Dueling had never felt like this before, not when Luke practised with Master Obi-wan, or even when with his dad. 

_ Why, why, why!  _

The two of them were so distracted that they missed the steep drop off that came upon them suddenly. With nothing to grab, they both went tumbling over the edge and Luke barely had enough time to turn off his lightsaber so it didn’t impale him on the way down. Luckily for them, the hill wasn’t very high and after only a few painful somersaults, Luke hit the bottom with a rough  _ thud!  _ and he heard the Sith apprentice groan too. 

Luke was winded, and his entire left side hurt with what was likely either bruised or broken ribs, but he rolled over quickly, wanting to face the Sith apprentice if he was going to attack Luke while he was still catching his breath. But the Sith seemed to be hurt, too. 

He was facing away from Luke on his hands and knees, one arm cradling his head. He let out another small groan and the next thing Luke realized about him was that it wasn’t a ‘him.’ 

The helmet the Sith wore had fallen off during their descent and lay useless a few paces away, exposing the Sith’s face. 

The Sith was a girl, a young girl as far was Luke could tell. 

Two long, intricate braids were spilling over her shoulders, and framing her young face, which Luke could see clearly now. And she looked so familiar: the shape of her lips, the slight upturn of her nose, the gentle arch in her brow. The small clef in her chin that matched his perfectly. 

Neither said a word as they continued their silent stare off. The girl seemed to be taking him in as much as he was her. Maybe her mask distorted things, he thought as her eyes met his. 

Blue met gold, but somehow knew if her eyes weren’t the bright Sith-gold they would warm, chocolate brown.    


She didn’t seem like she was about to attack him again, so he tried diplomacy (something he thought Master Obi-wan would be proud of). 

“I’m Luke Skywalker, Jedi Padawan. What’s your name?” 

The girl just stared at him, her brows furrowed in what Luke was beginning to think was a permanent scowl. 

“I mean we don’t have to talk. It’s just,” he tried again awkwardly, “fighting didn’t seem to get us anywhere. The Force was acting weird. You could feel it too, right?”

She remained silent and scowling, but nodded tentatively. Luke managed an easy smile, which in turn, helped to alleviate some of the tension in the Sith’s face. 

“I’m Luke, like I said. I think it would only be fair if you gave me your name as well,” Luke tried again, flashing her another smile. 

“I am Darth Rienia, Sith apprentice,” she answered, quietly. Her eyes were wide and Luke could tell she was itching to recall her lightsaber and keep fighting. 

“Okay,” he replied calmly, “do you mind telling me your real name, too?”

Reinia just stared at him.

“It’s just,” he continued, “I know that sometimes Sith have their Sith names and then also their birth names. Like Sidious was Palpatine, and Tyranus was Count Dooku, y’know?”

Reina scowled again, but this time Luke knew it wasn’t directed at him. She was fighting with something in her head, Luke could feel the tension radiating from her. It was actually kind of painful to bear witness to and Luke wished he knew how to stop it, for himself and for her. 

“It’s okay if you don’t,” he said, trying to curb some of the pain he felt leaking from Reinia. “Reinia is a great name, one of the best I’ve ever-”   


“Leia.”

Luke stopped. “What?”   


Reinia looked unsure. She began to stand up and Luke followed her lead. Face to Face, they stared at each other. 

“Leia,” she repeated, “that was my name before. I-I havent used it in probably a decade, but I’ve always remembered it.”

Luke was too stunned to answer because like a blastershot to the back, he was flung into a memory of a picnic by the Lake in Naboo with his mother and father… 

And his sister. Leia. 

Who had been kidnapped from their bedroom almost a decade ago. In the middle of the night, someone had come in through their window, taken Leia and then came back to try and take him as well. Luckily for Luke, his father had burst through the doors just as the hooded figure was trying to haul a screaming Luke out of the window. The hooded figure, realizing he wouldn’t be able to take the matching set of Skywalker twins and in a desperate attempt to distract Anakin Skywalker, stabbed Luke in the stomach, before dropping him back into the room and fleeing into the night. 

His father had no choice but to stay with him until medical services arrived and by that time, the man and Leia were long gone. The Jedi had come and searched Naboo for weeks, none more fervently than Master Obi-wan and Aunt Ahsoka. But all of their searching turned up empty.

That was ten years ago, but Luke still had the scar on his stomach, and the emptiness in his heart he knew only Leia returned to him could fill.

He looked at the Sith across from him now and felt his stomach twist painfully. It was her, clear as day. Except, this wasn’t his Leia, the Leia he had shared cookies with or played pilot with in their nursery. 

She didn’t even seem to remember him.

“Leia,” he choked out, taking a step forward. “Don’t you remember me?” 

Leia took a step away from him, recalling her lightsaber and crouching into a defensive stance. Luke raised his hands, in surrender. 

“I’m not going to fight you,” he said. “Leia, it’s me, Luke.”   


“I don’t know you,” Leia snapped at him, her hands tightening around her saber.

“Yes you do.”

“No I  _ don’t _ !”

“Yes,” he yelled, taking another step closer. “I’m your brother. Your twin actually if you want to get more specific about it.”   


Leia was scowling again, but this time it wasn’t anger in her brow, it was something more painful. Luke felt it like a migraine building behind his eyes. 

“I don’t know you,” she swore again through clenched teeth. 

“Leia, stop and listen to me. You were taken, ten years ago by someone. Mother, father, and I- we’ve never stopped looking for you.” 

“Stop it!” Leia screamed, slashing widely at him with her lightsaber. He avoided the swing cleanly and recalled his own lightsaber in the process. She swung again and this time, Luke parried it and continued to reason with her.

“Leia, stop this! You’ve been brainwashed,” he grunted out, blocking her attacks that were becoming more and more harried. 

“You’re lying,” she said, dodging the high swing he took. “ _ You’re lying _ !”

Luke couldn’t explain what happened then, but the next time their sabers collided, it was like a bomb exploded. Both of them were flung back from the Force of their impact and sent sprawling into opposite ends of the small clearing they were fighting in. 

Luke sat him and looked to Leia. She was getting up, too, and looked ready to charge again. Luke didn’t want to fight her, wasn’t sure he could. 

Leia came closer and raised her saber to strike. Luke raised a hand to block her, when a voice through the trees stopped them both. 

“Luke!” His father called from a distance, sounding distraught. “Luke, where are you?”   


They both froze at his voice. Luke watched as Leia’s face crumbled and he thought he saw recognition in her gaze. 

“Leia, come back with us,” Luke whispered, “we can help you.”

He stretched out a hand in her direction for Leia to take. She looked for a moment like she might and Luke’s heart fluttered at the thought. 

“Luke!” His father called again, significantly closer this time. 

And then, like the snap of a rubber band, Leia retreated back into herself, the Sith-like scowl returning to her face. 

In one swift motion, she brought the saber down on Luke’s right hand, cutting it clean off at the wrist.

He screamed in agony as his arm exploded in fiery pain. His eyes squeezed tight and he pulled the injured stump to his chest. 

The entire world was coming in and out of focus, and he couldn’t think over the pain, but Luke managed to look back up at Leia who was staring down at him in horror. Through the haze of pain, he thought he might have seen regret in her eyes. 

“Leia…” he whimpered.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said, eyes wide. 

Then, she turned and disappeared through the trees. 

Luke laid there cradling his injury and crying, not only because of the pain in his arm, but for the pain in his sister. He could feel her wholly now, like a door had been opened between them in the Force. She was in pain just as much as he was.

He barely remembered what happened next. His father and Master Obi-wan appearing; his father carrying him back to the ship; his mother crying over him in the Jedi medical wing on Coruscant. 

Luke barely said a word through it all. He couldn’t think of anything besides how much he needed to get his sister back. He would do anything to bring her home. 

  
  



	4. Day 04: Graveyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fall of the Empire, Luke travels to Naboo to finally learn more about his mother. He learns more than he expected to.

Despite the blistering heat, Luke pulled his cloak tighter around him and adjusted his hood to further cover his face. The war was over, and he wasn’t public enemy number one anymore- he didn’t need to worry about being arrested. No, now he was the hero of the war- The Jedi Who Restored the Republic.

So, somehow, his face was infinitely more recognizable now than when he had a million credit bounty on his head. 

Luke kept his face low and his pace quick as he followed the directions given to him by Leia. 

_“You can’t miss it,” Leia said, handing him the datapad, “once you get to the Royal Gardens, it’s a short walk until you come upon her mausoleum.”_

_“In the middle of a war, when did you have time to visit Naboo?”_

_“I went when I was really young, with my father. Before the war really began. He didn’t want to bring me to her memorial, but I begged to see it. I’d learned about her in my studies, and knew her and my parents had been friends. She was the youngest queen Naboo ever elected, and then a senator right after- that’s what I wanted to do. That’s the kind of person I wanted to be. I always felt connected to her. Now, I guess I know why.”_

_Luke pulled Leia into a tight hug, which she eagerly returned. He needed to get going, there were so many projects and commitments that he needed to get started on now that the war was over. Everyone was pulling him in a million different directions, asking for his assistance in almost every corner of the galaxy. But he needed time for himself first, he needed to do this._

_“Come with me,” he said, as Leia pulled away, but didn’t let go of his arms._

_“I’d love to, but I have so much to do here first. We’ll go together another time, when the galaxy’s more stable. We can see the Lake Country and maybe find out if mother has any family on the planet still, wouldn’t that be nice? To have cousins?”_

Luke bought flowers from a local vendor in one of Theed’s beautiful outdoor markets. As he wandered through the streets, he couldn’t help but understand why his mother was so dedicated to this place. It was immaculate, not like any planet he had ever been before.

For a brief moment, he allowed himself to think about what it would have been like to grow up here. He figured they would have had an apartment in the city, so his mother could be close to work, but also a house in the country where he and Leia could have grown up away from the chaos of city life. His father would have liked that, too, he thought. A place that was secluded, and just for them. 

It would have been perfect. 

Luke didn’t meander long, he ran the risk of being recognized the longer he stayed and he didn’t want to be roped into staying here any longer than necessary. Leia was right when she said they were incredibly busy restabilizing the galaxy. 

The datapad Leia had given him was helpful in making sure he stayed on track. It also managed to lead him down past some of the important historical Naboo buildings and landmarks, and Luke wondered if Leia did that on purpose. The thought made him smile. 

When he reached the entrance to the Royal Gardens, the guards standing at attention didn’t so much as blink when he went through. He had been warned that sometimes the gardens weren’t open to the public, and he had ready to use a mind trick on them to get through, but he didn’t have to it seemed. 

Soon, he realized why. There were tons of people milling around the garden. More than was probably standard, the garden's pathways were lined with people spilled over into the grass and rows of manicured hedges. There were young children chasing each other through the rows of rose, and families having picnics in the perfect green grass. 

_Great,_ Luke thought, _exactly what I wanted, to come on a holiday when everyone in Theed was out and about._

An old man and his wife were passing him on his left, and he thought that out of all the people here, they would have the least likely chance of recognizing him if he stopped to ask them what the occasion was. 

“Excuse me,” he called, stepping into their path, but still keeping his head low. “Could you tell me what everyone’s celebrating?”

The elderly woman smiled warmly at him. “Hello, dear. You’re from off-world?”

Luke nodded, smiling shyly at her. She seemed kind, he tried to read her presence in the Force and found nothing but broad, well-meaning intentions. 

“It’s the Festival of Shiraya, our planet’s moon goddess,” she explained. “We haven’t had one this large in many years, but with the fall of the Empire, everyone’s feeling an extra special reason to celebrate this year.”

Her eyes crinkled and Luke felt himself relaxing even more. Her gaze traveled down to the bouquet in his hands.

“Did you come to lay those at the tomb of a former queen?” She asked, gesturing to the lilies. 

“Er-,” he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say he was laying them on his mother’s tomb, that wouldn’t make sense if he was in the Royal Gardens where only former queens were buried. 

The woman seemed to pick up on his hesitance and hurried to continue. “It’s okay if you aren’t, dear. It’s just a Naboo tradition to lay flowers at the final resting place of former queens on Shiraya day. We believe that she welcomes them all in Elysium when they pass and the flowers are laid in thanks to her generosity.”

“Oh,” he said, relaxing. “Yes, I would like to present mine.”

The woman’s husband held up a beautiful multi-colored bouquet Luke hadn’t noticed at first. 

“We’re headed back to that section of the garden as well to say our prayers. Whose tomb are you looking for? Do you know the way?” 

“Uh,” Luke stuttered, “um- I’m looking for Queen Padmé Amidala’s tomb.”

The couple paused for a moment, looking between each other before recovering. The woman fixed Luke with another maternal smile. 

“We’re going to Padmé’s, too. Would you like to walk with us?”

Luke hesitated: it would be rude to say no, but continue in the same direction. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself. 

While he weighed the pros and cons, the couple continued to look at him, patiently and with nothing but earnest intentions. They weren’t trying to force him to do anything and that thought calmed Luke enough that he decided it couldn’t hurt. 

“Yes, thank you. That would be great.”

The woman immediately reached for his arm and manhandled him so that he ended up between her and her husband. Luke felt himself blush as she looped her arm through his and began pulling down the path. 

They made small talk for a minute, but most of the walk was done in silence. Luke felt it should be awkward, they were strangers after all, but it wasn’t. It felt comfortable and calm. Luke felt safe between the couple, both flanking him and guiding him by the elbows. He felt like he sometimes did with Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen when they would go into town and he would gently be guided to stand between them at all times to keep him safe and guarded from strangers. 

Luke felt he didn’t mind being treated that way by the elderly Naboo couple. 

“So,” the man asked after a while, “may I ask what you’re doing here if you’re not from Naboo?”

Luke knew he couldn’t tell the exact truth, but he could dance around it.

“My mother was from here. I came to visit her home planet.”

“Oh,” the woman said, “did she raise you on another planet?”

Luke grimaced. “Uh, she’s dead, actually. I never met her. I was raised by my dad’s family in the Outer Rim. We never had the money to make the trip, but now that I’m older I thought it was time I came on my own to honor her.”

The elderly woman gripped his arm tighter and Luke could feel the sympathy radiating off her and her husband. 

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry,” she sympathized. “What about your father?”

“He, uh,” Luke stammered, “he’s dead, too. I didn’t know either of my parents growing up.”

“You poor thing,” the woman fretted, her eyes full with pity. “What a hard life you’ve had.”

“It’s alright,” Luke tried to reassure her, “I found my sister, recently, and now we have each other.”

“Found?” The husband questioned.

“Yes, we were separated at birth. It was… unsuitable for our aunt and uncle to take us both, so she was adopted by another family off-world. But recently we reconnected and I’m really grateful for that.”

Luke was feeling kind of proud of his ability to tell the almost truth without giving too much away, but was pulled back down by the disbelieving look the couple was giving him. He began to feel self-conscious, even though, yeah, he knew the story sounded kind of crazy when explained like that.

“Well,” the woman added, “Bless the maker for small miracles. You hold onto that sister tightly, young man.”

Luke smiled reassuringly at her and nodded. He had no intentions of losing Leia. 

The couple turned away from him as they neared what was obviously the newest looking addition to the garden. Luke felt his heart stutter at the knowledge of whose memorial they had come upon. 

It was a sight. The stairs leading up and into the mausoleum were overflowing with bouquets of flowers in all shapes and colors. It was like a beautiful ocean of bouquets that surrounded the base of his mother's memorial.

His eyes traveled upward and landed on the towering, white marble statue of his mother in her most famous outfit. In one of the only photos he’d seen of her, she was wearing that throne room staple. The statue captured her likeness perfectly, he thought. 

The couple led him forward and he followed their lead as they placed their flowers among the others. The couple bowed and said a short prayer in a language Luke didn’t understand, but he knelt as well and offered his own private words. 

_It's nice to finally meet you, mother,_ he thought, _if only in this way._

Together the couple and Luke moved a little off to the side to allow other people to lay their flowers as well. Luke couldn’t help but notice that, although there was a large crowd around the mausoleum, nobody seemed to be going inside. 

“Are you allowed to go in?” Luke asked his companions.

“Usually yes,” the husband answered, “but not today. Only close family is allowed in to say their prayers.”

“Oh,” Luke replied disappointed. It hurt, because that applied to him, but no one could know. 

Before anyone could say anything else, a shout from nearby drew their attention. 

“Mama!” 

Luke turned to see a woman pushing through the crowd in their direction. She was a bit older than him, and trailing behind him were two younger women who looked a bit older than Luke himself.

“Mama,” she repeated as she came closer. She leaned down to kiss the elderly woman on her cheeks. “You’re late. The girls and I have been waiting ages. If you were going to be awhile, you should have comm’d.”

“We aren’t that late.” the woman begrudged. She gestured to Luke. “We were helping this young man. He’s from a different planet and he was lost among the extravagance of the festivities.”

The woman turned her sharp, blue eyes on Luke. He felt keenly like she was sizing him up. 

“I’m Sola,” she said, holding out her hand politely, “and these are my daughters, Ryoo and Pooja. And you are?”

“Luke,” he answered, taking her hand and offering a smile to each of her daughters. 

She turned away from and back to her parents. “Are you ready to go?”

Luke could sense that Sola was impatient. He figured now would be a good time to take his leave and slip away. Maybe he could go to the Royal Library or something and read everything he could about his mother before his departure. He could download stuff to Artoo, who was waiting in the ship, and read it on the journey back.

He tried to fade backwards away from the small family, quietly without fanfare, but the elderly woman reached out with a deceptively fast hand and grasped his wrist. 

“Hold on a second, dear,” she said to him before turning back to her daughter, and keeping Luke firmly in her grasp. “Sola, Luke is going to come with us.”

Sola furrowed her brow, while Luke gaped at her. 

“Mama, why? You don’t know him.”

“I learned a bit about him on the walk over and I’d like to invite him to come with us. I feel I have the right,” she challenged, angling her jaw in a way that had Luke thinking of Leia when she was about to win an argument. 

Sola just looked between her mother and Luke before, putting on a heavy looking smile. “Sure, Mama, you have.”

The elderly woman turned back to Luke who was still stammering out excuses for why he should leave. He didn’t know where they were going, but he certainly didn’t need to accompany them.

“Luke, sweetheart, I’d like you to come with us inside my daughter’s tomb,” the woman offered, pinning Luke with an expectant smile. 

“Huh,” Luke asked, confused. 

“We haven’t been completely forthcoming with you, son,” her husband added. “I’m Ruwee Naberrie, and this is my wife Jobal. We’re Padmé’s parents.” 

Luke felt like the world was slipping out from under him. His knees felt weak and he gripped Jobal’s arm for support. 

“Whoa,” she said, stepping closer. “Are you okay?”

Her gaze was on him and suddenly all Luke could see were Leia’s eyes. This woman had Leia’s exact color eyes. His mother’s eyes, he knew from photographs, and apparently her mother’s eyes before that. Luke’s gaze flickered to Ruwee and noticed they had the same clef in their chins. Luke always assumed it came from his father, but the thought that he could have inherited it from this man sent shivers up his spine. He looked to each of them and saw bits of him and Leia in them all. Luke knew he had his mother’s small, upturned nose, and apparently so did his grandmother, and one of his cousins. Leia’s hair curled in the exact same way Sola’s did.

He was so overwhelmed. He didn’t expect this when he came here, how could he have? Here was his whole family in front of him and he hadn’t even sought them out.

And he couldn’t say a damn thing. 

They were all looking at Luke with varying levels of concern, so he steeled his nerves. He didn’t want them to think he was crazy and rescind their offer to allow him inside. Although he hadn’t expected this, he found that now, there was nothing he wanted more than to go into his mother’s mausoleum with his family; the family he never knew he had. 

“I’m alright,” he said, faintly, “It’s just hot, I got a little lightheaded.”

His grandfather reached out to help him stand fully on his own again. “Well you’re wearing so many layers, son, maybe you should take your outer cloak off?”

“I will when we get inside, if you don’t mind.”

They all nodded, and then Sola began to lead the way into the mausoleum past the Naboo Royal Guard and through a private side entrance. His grandmother kept a firm hold on his arm the whole walk up to the main chamber. 

It was colder inside, the light-colored marble keeping the halls safe from the beating Naboo sun. 

“Lower your hood,” his grandfather whispered, kindly, and Luke did. He figured it was a Naboo custom to not wear hoods or hats in someone’s final place of resting. 

Soon, they were entering a medium sized main chamber with a stone tomb in the center, a stained glass window throwing beautiful colored light onto the face carved into the lid.

The mood was reverent as each of his companions, one by one, knelt before the tomb before stepping back to form a circle. Luke followed their lead when it was his turn. His hands were shaking as he knelt before his mother’s resting place. Luke pressed his fingers lightly into the cool stone of the tomb and felt a shock in the Force travel up his arms.

He had never doubted that Padmé was his mother, but he had never been more sure than this moment. 

Tears welled in his eyes but he tried to sweep them away before anyone saw, he took his place beside his grandmother in their small circle. 

Sola led them in a few short prayers in a language Luke didn’t know, but he took his cues from his family on when to close his eyes or bow his head or clasp his hands in front of him. 

Luke was so overwhelmed he barely noticed when the people around him stopped talking and were just taking a moment to silently stand in the presence of their lost sister, daughter, and aunt. 

And mother. 

This was his mother. 

Luke was wiping away a few more tears that leaked from his eyes when he felt an arm settle around his shoulder. 

He looked to see Sola had put her arm around him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, too, and he knew they were the same in their grief. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his throat thick with tears. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Sola pulled him into a crushing hug. “Yours as well, Luke. You know loss intimately, I can feel it in you. You carry it in your heart.”

Luke laughed wetly, offering her a small grin. She had _no_ idea. 

Sola released him, smiling kindly. Her eyes traveled from his face to the face of Padmé looking down at them from the stained-glass window. 

“You remind me of her, little one. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the fire I can sense is inside you, my sister had that in abundance. But she was also kind, so kind she’d help even her worst enemy,” Luke clung to her every word. “Or maybe it’s the smile. You have similar smiles.”

Luke blushed. He was so used to people saying he looked like Anakin Skywalker that it was refreshing to know he had pieces of her in him, too. 

He wanted to know more but didn’t know what he could ask without blurting out the truth, or seemingly like he was prying into their private memories. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to Leia if he told them the truth without her there. That was a door he didn’t have time to open yet, no matter how much his heart desired it.

It was time for him to leave. 

“Thank you,” he said, looking at his lost family in front of him. “Thank you for letting me come here with you. It means more to me than I can say.” 

His grandmother’s eyes were shining. He focused on her. 

“I have to leave now,” he continued. “I didn’t really have time to make this trip, but I felt like I had to, and now I know it was worth it. Thank you for making it special.”

His grandmother stepped forward and pulled him into another tight hug. He had never been a part of a family that hugged this much. He found he didn’t mind it.

“You come back any time, Luke. You come back and you bring that sister of yours and we’ll help you learn more about your mother’s home planet.”

More tears spilled down his cheeks, but before he could wipe them, his grandmother raised one of her tanned-wrinkly hands and wiped them away for him. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had wiped his tears. 

“Such pretty eyes you have,” she soothed. “The blue is so clear, like crystal. I’ve only ever seen such a color once before.” 

Luke was frozen as she looked right through him. She knew something- he didn’t know what, but she did. 

He had to leave. 

“Good-bye, everyone. I promise I’ll find you next time I’m on Naboo.”

And then he left, leaving behind some of the only people in the galaxy he shared blood with and hoped he would be back someday.

  
  



	5. Day 05: Terminal Illness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia are dying from an unknown, untreatable illness. Anakin despairs. 
> 
> TW- thoughts of suicide

“Master Skywalker,” Dr. Maheli began, softly. “I think it’s time we started talking about arrangements for if the treatment doesn’t take.”

Anakin was frozen; somebody had injected ice into his veins and it was freezing him from the inside out. That’s why he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. 

It was Obi-wan, who appeared at his side instantly, that asked the important next questions. 

“What does that mean, Jinn-Saa? Are you saying the medication won’t work.”   


“I’m sorry, I understand this must be difficult for you to hear,” Dr. Maheli continued and Anakin wished she would shut up because whenever she spoke, everything in Anakin’s world fell apart a little more. “But, the truth is with an illness we’ve never seen before, and can find no origin of it’s cause, it’s almost impossible to treat. What we’ve tried so far hasn’t worked and this experimental radiation therapy is, in my colleagues and I’s professional opinion, our last chance.”   


The doctor sounded so sympathetic, so full of remorse that she wasn’t able to do more for Anakin and his family, but none of it made a difference. 

His children were dying and there was nothing he could do to save them. 

Suddenly, Anakin’s knees gave out, and Obi-wan was there to help him before he could hit the floor. Together, Obi-wan and the doctor were able to get him to one of the chairs in the lobby of the Jedi Medical Center before he crumpled completely. The doctor left after another apology that Anakin didn’t acknowledge, and then it was just him and Obi-wan, who was rubbing circles on Anakin’s back. 

It all became too much as her words sunk in fully.

Anakin let out a broken sob. 

“Obi-wan,” he cried, tears carving trails down his cheeks that he didn’t have the strength to wipe away, “what am I supposed to do? I can’t- I- this isn’t-”

“It’s okay,” Obi-wan soothed as he pulled Anakin into a tight hug. “Everything is going to be okay. The treatment will work, and the twins will be healed. I have faith in their strength.”

Another sob worked its way free of his chest. Obi-wan could be optimistic, but he couldn’t feel what Anakin was feeling in the Force. Anakin’s bond with his children had been crumbling in bits and pieces for days now, ever since he had gone into their room that fateful morning and found them both unresponsive and catatonic in their beds. He had called their names until his voice was hoarse, and had shaken them by the shoulders hard enough to make their teeth rattle, but nothing woke them. They were breathing, but barely and their skin was like ice. 

He had called the EMTs first, and Obi-wan second. He had no one else to call. 

That had been three weeks ago, and since then the twins had only gotten worse. There was no explanation for it, but slowly, and in tandem with each other, the twins were dying; their organs slowly failing with no discernible cause. Since that morning, they had awoken once, briefly, and the conversation they had with Anakin had sounded way too much like a final good-bye. He begged them not to- to stay with him because he needed them, without them he had nothing. Nothing tying him to the galaxy. 

If Luke and Leia died, he would become untethered from this universe, a floating spector in space until he was eventually sucked into a black hole and torn to shreds.

“I don’t know what to do,” Anakin despaired, “with- with Padmé, it was quick. The twins were born and she went south so fast there was nothing to do. And it  _ hurt,  _ but I had Luke and Leia. What happens if I lose them, too?”   


Obi-wan didn’t respond, he didn’t have to. Anakin wasn’t looking for a response from him, he was speaking to something higher than the two of them. Was the galaxy so cruel as to make him bury every person he ever loved? Was he destined to be the last one standing at the end of the world? Alone, among the ash of everyone he held dear. 

Anakin clutched at Obi-wan harder. 

When Anakin’s sobs had slowed to sniffling, Obi-wan pulled back, but didn’t remove his hands from Anakin’s shoulders. His eyes were red-rimmed, and Anakin was reminded of how much Obi-wan loved Luke and Leia, too. He was hurting, deeply, but was staying strong for Anakin.

“I’m going to return to my room to freshen up and get some food. I’m going to bring you some as well, so don’t protest when I do,” he said, sternly. Anakin offered him a watery smile. “Then after you eat, you’re going to go get some sleep and wait for Ahsoka to return so you can bring her here.”

Anakin wanted to object, saying he had no intentions of leaving his children’s side. But Obi-wan shot him a look that Anakin knew from experience meant he wasn’t budging. 

“Okay,” he answered. He didn’t have the energy to argue. 

“Okay,” Obi-wan repeated, standing up and pulling Anakin with him. “Go, be with your children until I come back.”

Obi-wan squeezed his arms once more, and then was gone. Anakin watched him leave and then turned to make the short walk to his children’s hospital room. 

The room was exactly as he felt it, but made him wince when he entered anyway. There were so many monitors and machines surrounding the two small beds. Wires and tubes disappeared beneath the blankets and then reappeared attached to drips and bags with medications and vitamins Anakin had long forgotten the names for. They were trying so many different treatments it was hard to remember what was what anymore. 

He wiped a stray tear that slipped down his cheek and moved to sit in the chair between the two beds. The beds had been moved close enough, that whoever was sitting in the middle chair could hold both Luke and Leia’s hands at the same time. Anakin was grateful, he wouldn’t have been able to choose one. 

Before he sat, he leaned over Leia in the bed and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, and then did the same with Luke. They didn’t react. Anakin wasn’t expecting them to, but still he ached. 

Anakin seemed to fall into the chair, rather than sit, but he didn’t care. He was so tired and hurt, he could have curled up on the floor right there and went to sleep. 

But he didn’t. He reached out and took Luke and Leia’s small hands in his own. Like usual, they were as cold as ice. Anakin closed his eyes as more tears gathered at the corner and began to leak down his face. 

_ Please,  _ Anakin pleaded to whatever higher force was listening,  _ please save my children. Don’t leave me alone here. Don’t make me live without them. Don’t make me be the only one left.  _

There was no cosmic response, no one listening to the cries of a desperate father. 

Anakin continued to let the tears stream down his face, and decided that if the twins died, he would follow them. He wouldn’t be left behind. 

His mother, his wife, and now his children. He would follow them all into the Force. 

  
  



	6. Day 06: Nightmares Come Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke's been dreaming of violence, and an Angel of Death draped in black for as long as he can remember. 
> 
> Until one day, he isn't a dream anymore. He's standing in the doorway of Luke's family's farm.

Aunt Beru used to tell him that the reason he had nightmares so often was because his imagination was too active. 

_ “But they aren't a lot of different things,” he protested, cuddling up next to her in bed, Uncle Owen snoring loudly on his other side. He would always climb into bed after a particularly bad nightmare, it was the only thing that made him feel safe again. “It’s always the same person doing all the bad stuff.” _

_ “Well,” Aunt Beru answered, softly, running a hand through his hair. “He’s only in your dreams, isn’t he? He can’t get you here. Plus, even if he tried, Uncle Owen here would fight him off. Isn’t that right, Owen?” _ _   
_

_ Then, she kicked Uncle Owen under the blankets, causing him to snort and wave his hand at them, still half asleep.  _

_ “Yeah, yeah, in the morning I’ll do it,” He slurred before rolling over and snoring again.  _

_ Together, him and Aunt Beru would snicker and Luke would fall asleep feeling better than he had before the nightmare.  _

The dreams didn’t ever stop. In fact, they only got worse as he got older, but he stopped crawling into bed with Aunt and Uncle years ago. He was too old to be doing that, although he wished he still could sometimes. 

One of the problems was that they were so violent and vivid. 

Flashes of red light would cut through throngs of people as the Angel of Death (as Luke had started calling the figure) killed everyone in his path with a single swing. Luke could always hear children screaming, and mothers’ pleading with the Angel to spare them. It did no good, nobody ever survived. 

Sometimes, the Angel would speak, but mostly he would remain silent. Luke wasn’t sure which option he preferred more. The Angel’s voice was warped and demonic, it almost sounded like a robot’s. There was no emotion and it sent chills down his spine when he heard it reverberate around his head. 

In the worst of his nightmares, the Angel would spin around at some point and notice Luke standing in the corner of whatever space they were in. Then he would address Luke directly. 

“Where are you,” the Angel would bellow, crossing the room and kneeling in front of Luke. Luke always tried to run, but the Angel’s grip was always too tight. “Where are you!?”

At this point, Luke would be crying, and would wake up to Aunt Beru shaking his shoulders and calling his name. These nights were the hardest. He would cling to her while she rubbed his back and whispered reassurances into his hair. 

Those nights left him exhausted the next day. He would have to drag himself to school, fight to stay awake the whole time, and then drag himself home after. Bigg’s would ask if he wanted to race through the canyons and Luke would turn him down. He didn’t have the energy, he just wanted a nap. 

There was nothing to be done about it but let the nightmares happen and remind himself, through the terror, that the Angel wasn’t real. He couldn’t get him. 

One night, when Luke was actually managing to sleep peacefully, the sound of a banging on the front door woke him with a start. Luke stayed quiet, listening for the tell-tale sounds of Tusken Raiders trying to break in like they sometimes did. He wasn’t afraid, they never managed to get inside. Besides, if they did, Uncle Owen would take care of them quickly, like he always did. 

Usually they would bang on the walls a few times and then disappear to look for another, easier compound to ransack. They didn’t usually make the metal of the front door sound like it was being pulled apart by a shredder. 

Luke jumped out of bed at the sound. It was a horrible, ripping sound that made him wince and cover his ears. His bedroom door was shut, but if someone stronger was attacking he wanted to be with Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, he didn’t want to be alone. He weighed the pros and cons of leaving the safety of his room and decided that he could probably make it to their room before the Raiders made it to the part of the homestead where the bedrooms were. They were farther in the back

Luke put his slippers on and crept over to the door, pressing the release, and checking to make sure the coast was clear before he stepped out into the hallway. 

The door to his Aunt and Uncle’s room opened as he took his first step into the hall and Aunt Beru peaked her head out. 

“Luke,” she whispered, frantically, “come here,  _ quick _ !” 

Uncle Owen stepped past her with a blaster raised in his hand, looking ready to fight off whoever had dared attack his home. 

“Luke, come stay with Aunt Beru. I’m going to investigate,” Uncle Owen said, tightly, his brow furrowed in concentration. 

He took off in a light footed run for the safety of his Aunt and Uncle’s embrace right as the sound of heavy footfalls came closer, accompanied by the loud, artificial sound of breathing. 

Luke froze where he was. He had heard that sound before. 

Before anyone could react. Something rounded the corner into the small, dark hallway where the Lars and Luke were hiding. Aunt Beru gasped and Uncle Owen dove forward and fired two quick shots at the figure, but they were swatted away as easily as flies, with a wave of the figure’s gloved hand. 

_ It can’t be, _ Luke thought,  _ it’s not supposed to be real.  _

The Angel of Death stood, silhouetted by the moonlight that filtered in through one of the small, high windows in the hallway. Just like in Luke’s dreams, he was clad in all black from head to toe, a heavy looking cape billowing out behind him. The Angel was taller than in his dreams, Luke thought absently. 

The other thing Luke noticed as the glowing red lightsaber he held tightly in his hand. In his nightmares, Luke hadn’t noticed it was a lightsaber the Angel wielded that seemed to cut through people like they were made of sand. 

“Lord Vader,” Uncle Owen said, his voice wavering slightly. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I promise my family and I have done nothing wrong.”

The Angel didn’t regard him. He was looking right at Luke, caught halfway between the safety of his aunt and uncle, and the creature from his nightmares. Even though Luke couldn’t see his eyes through the mask, Luke knew the Angel was staring at him. Luke stared back, he could do nothing else. 

The respirator cycled a few times before the Angel spoke. “Actually, Lars, you have done everything wrong.”

Suddenly, Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were clutching at their throats and gasping for air, an invisible force obstructing their breathing. 

This had also happened in his nightmares, Luke knew who was responsible. 

“Stop it!” Luke begged the Angel of Death, “Stop, don’t hurt them! Please!”

The Angel didn’t move, he gave no indication he had heard Luke’s pleading. 

“ _ Please,”  _ Luke cried, tears falling freely as he watched Aunt Beru’s eyes roll back into her head. “Please!”

Again, the Angel did not respond, except to kneel down, closer to Luke’s height. The Angel regarded him silently for a moment more before speaking. 

“If I spare the life of your aunt and uncle, will you come with me willingly? No fighting, or trying to escape,” he asked. 

“Me?” Luke replied, frightened. “What do you want with me?”   


T he hand that wasn't holding the lightsaber came up to cup Luke’s cheek and it took everything in him not to flinch away from the cold leather. 

“Everything, young one,” he said, somehow softer despite the electronic quality of the vocoder. “You are everything. I have been searching for you a long time. Since the first time you appeared to me in a vision.”   


“A vision?”   


The Angel nodded.

Luke bit his lip before hesitantly responding, “you were in my dreams, too. For as long as I can remember.”

“It is the will of the Force that we should be together,” the Angel replied, resolutely. “So, will you trade your loyalty for the life of your family?”

There was no conflict in Luke’s heart. 

“Yes,” he rushed out. 

Behind him, his Aunt and Uncle’s struggling stopped. He turned to see them sitting on the floor both holding their necks and taking, deep ragged breaths. 

“Luke,” Aunt Beru rasped, reaching for him. 

He tried to take a step toward her, but a hand on his shoulder held him back.

“We are leaving now. Pack one small bag,” the Angel said. 

Luke looked remorsefully at his aunt and then did as he was told. He had given his word and he was terrified if he broke it, the Angel of Death would live up to his nickname.

He didn’t have very many things, so he took only a few small trinkets and put them in his school bag.

When he came back into the hall, nobody had moved. 

He took a small step closer to the Angel. 

“Can I say good-bye,” he asked, hesitantly, tears welling in his eyes. 

The Angel nodded slightly. 

Luke ran to Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen and they immediately swept him into their arms. Aunt Beru was crushing him and crying into his hair, but he didn’t mind. Luke was crying, too. 

“Come back,” she whispered into his hair, “come back one day.”

“I will,” he promised. 

She pulled back and looked at him one last time. With her hands on either side of his face, she pulled him close and placed a big, wet kiss on his forehead. 

“That is enough,” the Angel demanded, and suddenly Luke was being pulled away from them and back beside the Angel. “We are leaving now.”  
The Angel turned his back on the Lars and marched back toward the mangled front door. Luke gave one watery, last look at his family before hurrying to follow. 

When Luke caught up, the Angel was standing outside the homestead, staring off to the right. Luke followed his gaze to the small headstones that signified where various members of his family were buried. 

“That’s where my grandmother is buried.” Luke blurted out. He wasn’t sure why he said it, it just kind of came out. He looked quickly at the Angel, hoping he wouldn’t be angry at Luke for talking out of turn. He seemed like the type of guy who had rules about that kind of thing.

But, the Angel was still. His respirator cycled through a few rounds of breathing before he answered simply, “I know.”   


Then, he was striding toward the ship with Luke trailing behind, leaving Luke to wonder if it really was grief he had felt rolling off the Angel. 

Could an Angel of Death feel heartache?    



	7. Day 07: Skeleton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-ROTJ: Luke and his father manage to escape the DS-2 before it is destroyed. Luke wants Anakin to join him in the Alliance, but Anakin doesn't see a place for himself there. Doesn't see a place for himself anywhere. So, he makes a plan to find one.

Anakin gripped the controls tighter and barely restrained himself from glancing at the unconscious boy slumped over in the co-pilot chair for what had to be the tenth time in the last five minutes. Anakin was monitoring the boy’s vital signs in the Force, he would know if something changed. Still, he was strung tight with worry, and the accompanying anxiety was making him need to verify with his own eyes that Luke was alive. 

Like always when it seemed to come to his son, Anakin gave in. He looked to his right: Luke was in the same slumped position he had been in since their harried escape from DS-2. 

_ “Come with me,” Luke begged, gripping Anakin’s remaining forearm with both hands and attempting to use his full body weight to pull Anakin along with him. They had barely moved an inch. _

_ “It is my destiny to remain here, to fall with the Empire,” Anakin replied, simply. It was still odd to hear his voice unaffected by the broken vocoder after over twenty years of forgetting what he sounded like.  _

_ But Luke just pulled harder as tears welled in his eyes. “No! No, you don’t get to leave me, not now. Not after I’ve just gotten you back!” _

_ “Son, I will not be welcomed by your friends, nor would I expect to. The galaxy has no need for me any longer, as a Jedi or a Sith. I have failed it enough as both”  _

_ “I need you,” Luke pleaded, “as a father. Isn’t that enough?” _

It was lucky for his son that Anakin was so easily bended by his will because it wasn’t moments after the duo climbed the ramp of their escape vessel that Luke’s presence across their fledgling bond began to waver and he collapsed into Anakin’s surprised arms. 

He figured he shouldn’t be that surprised, Luke had been through hell and back over the past few hours- emotionally and physically He needed to see a doctor, desperately. Anakin stared regretfully at the angry red lightning branch burns that traveled the length of Luke’s face and neck until they disappeared beneath his collar where Anakin was sure the damage was much worse. 

His heart constricted at the thought of how close he had been to losing his son, again, because of his inability to act. In the anger filled haze that had surrounded him, fueled by his once master, he had forgotten Luke. Forgotten everything, and by the time the fog had lifted, his precious child was almost dead by his master’s hand. 

Anakin would never forgive himself for a lot of stuff, but that cracked the top five. 

Another reason he couldn’t join Luke with the Alliance: he wasn’t safe to be around yet. He continued to be a danger to himself and others. Sidious was gone, but twenty years (longer if he really thought about how long the man had been planting seeds of obedience and anger into his brain) of control and abuse could not be forgotten in a day. It would take awhile for Anakin to heal, to feel like he was safe for other people. 

_ This would have been so much easier if I had just stayed behind and gone out with the DS-2,  _ Anakin thought, steering the ship closer to what he assumed was the Alliance flagship. He could feel the overwhelming, collective joy from everyone inside at their victory over the Empire. Anakin let it wash over him for a moment, before pulling away. He did not deserve to share in their excitement. 

There were skeletons in his closet far worse than any that could be forgiven currently. He had to deal with those before he could even begin to ask forgiveness from the galaxy. From Luke. 

Their shuttle stopped as it reached the limit of the cruiser's gun range, but just inside their system’s open comm network. Anakin opened their own ship’s comm. 

“Unidentified shuttle, please present clearance codes or you will be shot down,” a stern voice warned through the shuttle’s central speakers. 

“Don’t shoot,” Anakin replied calmly. “I don’t have any clearance codes, but I do have Commander Luke Skywalker on board with me.”

There was a flurry of surprised noise on the other end as Anakin assumed the low level ensign manning the comms he was speaking to hurried to get a supervisor. 

A few minutes later, a different voice filled the cockpit. “This is Chancellor Mon Mothma. I would like to speak to Commander Skywalker myself to verify what you’re saying is true before we proceed.”

Anakin looked over at the still unconscious boy breathing shallowly beside him. 

“Um, that’s going to be an issue. He sustained severe injuries at the hand of the Emperor and is currently unconscious.”

Another round of commotion filtered through the speakers and Anakin wondered if the entire ship was standing around the comm system listening. 

“Sir, I don’t know who you are,” Mon Mothma warned, “but if you intend to use our injured Commander as leverage to gain access to our ship, I must warn you that you will be detained the moment you land in our loading dock.”

“Mon Mothma, I have no intention of doing that,” Anakin replied, smiling a little at the concern he heard in her voice for his son. The Alliance cared for Luke, as a person and not just as a weapon, he would be well-cared for with them. “I also don’t plan on docking. I plan on putting him in an escape pod and would like to make sure he is immediately rescued by one of your pilots. Then, I would like no obstruction from your fleet as I make an exit.”

There was stunned silence on the other end of the comm and Anakin could almost palpably feel them trying to figure out how this was a trap. 

“I assure you,” he tried again to be convincing. “I am not lying. I just want to return my- your commander so that he may receive the adequate medical attention he needs, then I will be gone.”

“Sir, if I may, who do I have the displeasure of speaking to?”

It was Anakin’s turn to be silent. He was afraid if he told them who he was, he would be shot down in seconds, with or without Luke in the shuttle. 

After a long, awkward silence, Anakin heard Mothma say off mic ‘ _ clear the deck. Everyone out right now.’ _ There was a lot of disappointed muttering on the other end before silence. 

Then, when Mothma spoke again, she spoke, timidly: “Anakin Skywalker?”

Anakin hesitated. “How did you know?”

“Despite how you have tried to hide it, you still have a distinct Outer-Rim cadence. Plus, I heard you speak so often when you would come to the Senate to see Padmé, I don’t think I could have forgotten it. You were always courteous”

His heart ached at hearing her name, but he pushed it away. 

“Luke needs medical attention, immediately. I just want to see him safe.”

“And why shouldn’t I have you shot down the moment after the escape pod is retrieved, Darth Vader.” she threatened. “Your identity was not so much as secret as you would have liked to think.”

“You could, and I might thank you for it,” he answered, honestly. “But you would not earn any points for yourself, or your Alliance, in Luke’s book if you did. Your war isn’t over yet, you’ll need him. As for my identity, I do not deny that I was Darth Vader. I would prefer to be called Anakin again, however, if you don’t mind, Chancellor.”

Mothma sighed loudly and Anakin felt just as exhausted as she sounded. 

“I will send the Millennium Falcon to retrieve the pod once it has been released,” she said. “And you have my word that your escape will be unhindered by my fleet”

“Thank you.”

“I’m not doing this for you, Anakin. I’m doing it for  _ her. _ ”

Anakin sucked in a breath.

“I am right, aren’t I? Luke is her son?”

“Yes,” Anakin said, faintly.

“The first time he showed up in my command room after escaping the Death Star and told me he was ‘Luke Skywalker, son of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker,’ I barely heard any of it because all I could see were her kind eyes and bright smile. I knew immediately who his mother was.”

Anakin didn’t respond, the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him. He wished those familiar, but different eyes would look upon him again, just one more time, before he sent them away. Possibly forever. 

“He may look more like you, but he got all her best parts.”

“I agree.” Anakin strained, desperate for this reminiscing to be over. “I will prepare the escape pod. Please tell me when the Falcon is in position. I do not want my helpless, injured son floating in space where anything could happen.”   


“Give me five minutes to contact Han. He should already be on his way up from the surface.”

With that, she was gone. Anakin stood up and began to make the necessary rearrangements for his son's departure. He programmed the coordinates into the escape pod and placed his son’s lightsaber inside, along with Anakin’s blue lightsaber (saved from Cloud City) and his red one. He hoped Luke would destroy that one. 

The only thing left to do was wait for Mothma’s okay, and put Luke into the escape pod. He was waiting until the last possible second to do that last one.

While he waited, Anakin did nothing but gaze longingly at his son, drinking in every last detail about him he could. He reached out and brushed the hair out of Luke’s face, letting his hand linger on Luke’s forehead. Luke, instinctively, leaned into the comfort of his father’s touch. 

Again, Anakin asked the universe what he did to deserve this boy. The answer was a resounding ‘nothing,’ which was why he had to leave. He could not return until he could earn his son’s forgiveness. And his love, something Luke had already given him, despite all the atrocities he had committed. 

The comm system came to life again while he memorized the curves of his son’s face.

“Han Solo and the Millenium Falcon are in position to retrieve the escape pod.”

Reluctantly, Anakin stepped away from Luke to reply.

“Thank you, Mon Mothma.”

“What do I tell him, when he awakens to find you gone? I assume you are only here by his request.”

“I have left a recording in the pod that explains everything to him. He will hear it and know this was for the best,” Anakin explained, looking back to his son.

“If  _ you _ think that’s what is best.”

“It is.” Anakin was about to turn off the comm system and move Luke to the escape pod when one last thought came to his mind. “Mon Mothma?”

“Yes?”

Anakin breathed deeply for a moment, letting his emotions fade into the Force, something he hadn’t done in a long time.

“In the recording I left for Luke is the identity of his mother, of-,” he stuttered, “of Padmé. He did not know it was her. He will have questions- I have left enough information for him to know the truth and where to research her, including how to access everything in R2-D2’s memory banks, assuming he hasn’t been wiped. But all of this is to say, that it is often best to learn about someone from a friend, not data tapes and history books.”

He stopped, not knowing how to continue. But Mothma knew what he was asking without him having to say it.

“I’ll tell him everything I know about her.”   


If he could cry, Anakin’s eyes would have been flowing freely. 

“Thank you.”

“Good-bye, General Anakin Skywalker. It was a pleasure to have known  _ you.  _ I don’t know if our paths will cross again, but if not,” she said, “may the Force be with you.”

“And with you, Chancellor Mon Mothma.”   


The comm system went quiet. Anakin picked up Luke and deposited him gently into the pod, triple checking the safety harness. He placed the comm with the message into Luke’s pocket, somewhere he wouldn’t be able to miss it. Luke would know what it was. 

Just as he was about to shut the door and launch the pod, Luke stirred in the seat. He opened his eyes and blinked blearily at the space around him.

“Father,” he managed to rasp out.

“Be still, my son. Soon you will be safe.”

Luke reached out a hand and Anakin took it hungerly. He placed it to his chest and pushed  _ love _ across their bond as strongly as he could. Luke smiled slightly with the influx of the emotions and weakly sent it back. 

“I love you,” he whispered.

Anakin just flooded him more with the emotion before releasing Luke’s hand and pressing his fingers to Luke’s forehead head instead.

_ Sleep _ , he urged. Luke had no energy to fight it and was out again before another thought.

As the escape pod launched and Anakin stood at the viewport watching the Millenium Falcon immediately descend upon it, he couldn’t help but think that part of his heart was in the pod. It was small, and blond, and everything he had ever wanted. 

Something, one day, he hoped he would be able to return to with a lighter heart.

Anakin moved back to the cockpit and plugged in hyperspace coordinates.

_ Slave, Jedi, Sith, Father. _

What was he now? 

He was Anakin, and he had a lot to do. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used the prompt SO LIGHTLY here I might as well have dusted it on top like parmesan cheese. OOPS :) 


	8. Day 08: Mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post ESB: Luke and Leia are sent on a scouting mission for a potential base when they're shot down. While they wait on rescue, Luke decides to tell Leia the whole truth about what happened on Bespin, despite his fears over how she'll react.

When Luke awoke, it was to Leia’s worried face hovering over his and shaking him so hard his teeth rattled. 

And a splitting headache. 

“Oh, thank the stars,” Leia exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him so tight he thought his head might pop off. 

Which, honestly, might be preferred over the sharp pain that was pulsing at the base of his neck. 

“Are you alright? You hit your head really hard when we crashed,” Leia said, pulling back from the hug to examine him more thoroughly. 

“Crashed?” It was like someone was slowly turning up the brightness in Luke’s head, but a lot of things were still hidden in the shadows. He didn’t remember crashing a ship with Leia in it. The last thing he remembered was someone shooting at him the second they came out of hyperspace, and then… bits and pieces.

“Yeah,” Leia answered, looking at him warily, “That pilot took out our landing gear, but I’d say you made a valiant effort without it considering this moon’s surface is essentially non visible.”

After Leia said that was when Luke realized that there was a weird white haze filtering throughout the cockpit, and when he looked out the front window of the ship he noticed why. The entire planet was covered in a white, hazy mist so thick it was impossible to see more than a foot in front of them. Luke couldn’t even see the nose of the ship, it seemed to disappear into the abyss, as did every other discernible feature of this moon’s surface. 

“Oh,” Luke replied, “I guess I could have picked a better place for a crash and rescue.”

Leia just waved her hand, dismissively, “It’s fine. Plus, I’m partially to blame, I could have told you this wasn’t the best place to land. The Alliance looked into the moons of Ambros-III years ago as potential bases. The mist would work great to hide us from the Empire, but unfortunately from each other, too.” 

Leia laughed and Luke tried to match her mirth, but the pain in his head was getting sharper by the second and it was hard not to let it show on his face.

“Are you alright?” 

Luke tried to focus on Leia’s face, but the pain was so overwhelming he couldn’t even open his eyes to look at her. He hunched over in the seat and pulled at his hair as a wave a pain reverberated inside his skull. 

“Luke!” 

He couldn’t answer her, couldn’t acknowledge in any way that he had heard her. There was only pain; a pressure building that was begging to be let out. 

He needed to let it  _ out! _

_ Oh _ , he realized suddenly,  _ I know what this is _ . 

Luke tentatively went to the part of his mind where the link with his father was currently locked away and could feel it as the origin of the splitting in his skull. 

When he activated the link it was like an explosion inside his brain that almost hurt worse than when it was locked away.

_ LUKE! _

Luke waited a second for the pain to dissipate before he answered.

_ Yes?,  _ he sent back hesitantly. 

_ I felt you injured across our bond,  _ his father stated. 

_ I, uh, crashed my ship. _

_ I know. On the Major Moon of Ambros-III. It was an Imperial scout who shot you down. I am coming to collect you.  _

Luke let out an audible groan that had Leia reaching for his shoulders. 

“Luke! Talk to me, are you okay?” Leia demanded.

It was hard to keep two conversations straight, especially when one was secret and inside his head. He ignored Leia in favor of finishing the more pressing conversation he really didn’t want to be having with his father. 

_ How long until you get here? _

_ Less than one standard hour.  _

Shit. This wasn’t good. 

_ Alright, bye! _

Luke closed the link on his father suddenly, leaving the man sputtering as he was once again denied access to Luke’s mind. 

They had less than an hour to get off this planet. 

Luke stood up abruptly and staggered over to the control panel, hoping that in his attempt to not kill them, he had managed not to kill the ship either. 

“Luke! What’s going on?” Leia came up beside him and gripped his arm, trying to get him to sit back down. “You’re hurt, you need to relax.”   


“I can’t,” Luke replied, pushing all of the buttons to see if anything would light up. “We have to get off this planet  _ now! _ ”

“I already tried that,” Leia answered, watching him bang on the controls. “Everything is fried. But Luke, it’s okay, our comlinks were still working. Han is on his way, he should be here soon.”   


“Han’s coming?” He asked, whipping around to look at Leia. “How far away is he?”

Leia was looking at him like he had three heads. Luke could admit he was acting a little crazy right now, but they needed to leave this planet before his father showed up.  _ Leia  _ needed to leave this planet before his father showed up. 

“When I spoke to him about two hours ago, he was entering hyperspace. He should be dropping out any minute now. We just have to wait until he calls us.” Leia squeezed his shoulder. “Can you sit back down? You still look pale.” 

Luke, feeling a little calmer knowing that Han would hopefully make it before his father did, followed Leia to the cabin of the ship. She steered him to one of the comfortable sitting nooks and practically shoved him in first before sitting beside him. Then, Leia grabbed the sides of his head and was manhandling him so she could look into his eyes. 

“Leia,” he complained, trying to pull away, “I’m fine.”

“Two minutes ago you looked like you were having an aneurysm and then you shot up so fast it was like you had been injected with adrenaline. I’m trying to make sure you don’t have a brain bleed or something.”

She twisted his head more and was looking back forth from one eye to the other. 

“I don’t, I promise. It wasn’t from the crash,” he began, not really knowing how he was going to explain this to her. Leia believed in the Force, it wasn’t that he thought she’d call him crazy. It was because he hadn’t told her and Han everything that happened at Bespin. Luke had told them most of it, but he left out one crucial detail, afraid that they would be disgusted with him if they knew. 

How was he supposed to tell her it was because Darth Vader, his father, was beating down his shields when she didn’t even know Vader was his father. 

“Was it,” she asked, “-was it the Force?”   


Luke looked at Leia. Her eyes were wide with concern for him and nothing else. Would she treat him differently if she knew? Luke didn’t think so, she wasn’t that kind of person. But at the same time, a small part of him that he was desperately trying to push away was gnawing at the edges of his mind. 

_ She’ll hate you,  _ it said. _ She’ll hate you and she’ll push you away. How could Darth Vader’s son be trusted in the Alliance. You’ll have to leave them all.  _

And that’s what he was really afraid of. If the council found out he was Darth Vader’s son, would he be allowed to stay with the rebellion? Would they think he was an undercover spy who was feeding information to the Empire? The idea of them forcing him to leave when he had nowhere else to go in the galaxy was soul crushing. He would be completely alone. 

But Leia was right in front of him, offering without expectation to hear what was bothering him; the closest thing he had to a real family. He decided to trust her. 

“Yeah, it was a Force thing. Kind of.”

“‘Kind of?’ Is there something wrong with the planet?” 

“No, it’s not that.” Luke swallowed down the lump in his throat. “I’ve learned, recently, that Force users can do this thing if they’re close with the Force user where they talk to each other over a mental bond.”

Leia’s brow was furrowed as she tried to follow along. “So, your Jedi Master was trying to talk to you and it hurt?”   


Luke winced. “Not exactly. It wasn’t Master Yoda, it was someone else.” He stopped to gather his courage. “I wasn’t completely honest with you after everything that happened at Bespin. I didn’t lie, I just left something out. I met my father on Bespin.”

“Luke,” Leia said, warrily, “your father is dead.”

“No, he isn’t. I thought he was, too, but he isn’t- he’s just changed.” Luke looked her right in the eye, begging her to understand how hard it was for him to admit this. “Leia, my father is Darth Vader.”

Instantly, Leia recoiled from him like he’d electrocuted her. 

“What?” She was gaping at him like he’d grown another head.

“Leia, please,” he pleaded, desperate for her to be close to him again. To see him like she had only seconds ago. “I didn’t know, I thought he was dead. I swear, I haven’t known since the beginning. I’m sorry for not telling you, but I didn’t want you to hate me.  _ Please _ .”

Luke was openly crying now. If Leia rejected him, there was nothing for him. He was spiralling and trying to imagine where he would have to ask Han to drop him off once they were rescued and Leia couldn’t stand to look at him any longer. 

A hand reached out and touched Luke’s cheek tentatively, bringing his face back up. Through tears, he peered at Leia, braced for rejection. 

Her face was tight, her mouth a thin line, and Luke was trying to discern if she was trying not to cry, too. Why would she cry?

But, when she spoke, it wasn’t in the hard, angry tone he was expecting. 

“It’s been four months since Bespin. You’ve been keeping this secret the whole time.”

Luke nodded, not trusting his voice. 

“And you’ve had Darth Vader talking to you in your head the whole time?”   


Luke shook his head this time. “No, I’ve been keeping him out. It’s hard, he’s really powerful, but he hasn’t gotten through since right after Bespin when the link was activated. I swear, he doesn’t know anything about the Alliance, he hasn’t heard any secrets.” 

Leia looked pained, her hand tightening on his cheek. “Luke, I’m not worried about that. I mean, I am I guess, but that’s not what I’m worried about right now. Has he been hurting you, like he did earlier with the headache?”

“That’s never happened before. I think he was just… concerned when he crashed? He could feel it.”

“Four months,” Leia repeated. “You’ve kept this a secret from me for four months.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke breathed. “I didn’t want you to hate me. I’m sorry.”

“Hate you?” She sounded confused, “Luke, why would I hate you over something out of your control?”

Now Luke was confused. “Because I’m  _ his  _ son. He tortured you and blew up Alderaan.”

“Okay, but you didn’t do those things,” she reasoned. Leia was giving him a watery smile. “Luke, you’re the closest thing I have to family. I don’t hate you for the choices a father you didn’t know existed until four months ago made. You’re still you.”

For some reason, those words tore him apart. Leia saw it happen and pulled him back tightly into a hug before he could break completely. Luke held on to her for dear life as sobs shook his body. 

_ You’re still you.  _

That’s the crux of all his fears. That the revelation about his father meant he needed to change, that he was a different person. A person who could torture young girls and blow up entire innocent planets. That could kill without remorse and would cut off his own hand in a duel. 

But, here was Leia telling him he was the same person as he had always been. He was Luke Skywalker, Jedi apprentice and moisture farmer from Tatooine. 

Leia was running a hand through his hair. Luke could tell she was crying, too, softer than he was. He worked to slow his breathing.

They stayed like that, holding each other until they had both calmed. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Luke said after a while. 

Leia pressed a kiss to his cheek and pulled back. Her eyes were red but she had stopped crying. “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me.” 

“It wasn’t you, it was me. I thought you’d see me as a different person and make me leave. I think deep down, I knew you wouldn’t. I was just scared.”

“I won’t ever leave you, Luke,” she said, fiercely.

Luke smiled. Leia returned it. 

Just then, a beep from Leia’s pocket interrupted them. She reached down to pull out her comlink.

“Han?”   


“Hey, your worshipfulness, I just dropped out of hyperspace and am on my way surface-side. How’s the kid?”

“I’m alright, Han,” Luke said into the comm.

“Glad to hear it, Luke. You had the princess here all up in arms when you wouldn’t wake up. Don’t freak her out like that again, or you’ll be in big trouble.”   


Luke could hear what he wasn’t saying. 

“How long until you find us?”   


“I’m scanning the surface now around the coordinates Leia sent, it shouldn’t take long I just need to- oh what the- an imperial shuttle just dropped out of hyperspace behind me!”

Luke paled, they were out of time. “It’s him,” he said to Leia.

Leia gripped his arm tightly. “I won’t let him get you.” 

“Hey you two, that sounds real sentimental, but what the kriff is going on? Are you expecting company?” Han’s voice cracked through the comm. 

“Han,” Leia demanded, “you better get down here quick or we’re all going to be having a dinner party with Darth Vader again.”

“Oh kriff, I already ate! I’ll be there in no time.” 

Then the comlink was silent and Luke and Leia were left waiting for whoever managed to pick them up first. 

“Whatever happens,” Leia said, “we’ll do it together. No more secrets.”   


Luke nodded. “No more secrets.”

And from somewhere above them, blaster fire began. 

_ Well _ , he thought,  _ this is where the fun begins.  _ _   
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Han isn't frozen in carbonite in this universe. Why isn't he you're wondering?  
> Because I didn't want him to be, it's as simple as that :)


	9. Day 09: Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (A continuation from day 7: skeleton) After leaving his son with the Alliance, Anakin goes to Tatooine to make amends.

Not once in the twenty years that Anakin was trapped inside the Vader suit had he been grateful for it’s presence. Not a single day, not even the day it saved his life. 

Except for today. 

The harsh, dry winds of Tatooine raged around him, but Anakin couldn’t feel it. Sand pelted against his helmet, but again, it was superficial and left nothing behind as it slid down the slick durasteel of his armor and fell away around him. It made being back on that dustball of a planet slightly more bearable. 

His heavy boots sunk into the sand as he picked his way across the uneven terrain to the homestead in the distance. 

Anakin had only been there once, but although that day was shrouded by a haze of grief and anger, he remembered thinking that the Lars’ farm was quaint. It wasn’t really possible for anything to be nice or clean on Tatooine, but the farm was the closest thing to that Anakin had ever seen. 

Now, after years of abuse at the hands of the planet’s relentlessly harsh climate and no one around to fix it up, the homestead was decrepit. The sand was swallowing it whole, reclaiming it into the habitat like it had never been there at all, crumbling its walls and eating away at it’s roof. It was likely to continue that way until it was as if the home was never there at all. 

That didn’t particularly make Anakin sad, it had never been his home, but it made him sad for Luke. As far as he understood from the reports he had poured over in his search for his son, this was where Luke grew up, where he was loved by his aunt and uncle before he was forced to abandon the place after their brutal death. 

As he approached the dome-shaped entrance, he could almost see it: two smoking corpses, thrown aside as if they weren’t even human beings so that the house could be searched for the missing droids. Anakin didn’t have all the details of what happened that day, he didn’t know what Luke saw of their demise, but it was easy to imagine Luke returning from wherever he’d been to find them murdered and the place smoking. Vader hadn’t cared at all about that when he’d read it in the report, but Anakin now, felt the phantom pain of his son losing the only family he had ever known to senseless murder. He understood what that felt like. 

Anakin continued past the entrance and out into the flat space behind it. The closer he got to his destination the more his heart raced and his chest tightened. Last time Anakin had stood at that spot, there had only been three headstones in the dirt, now there were six. He didn’t care about them (although the two flat, small stones labeled ‘O’ and ‘B’ made Anakin’s heart ache thinking of his son burying his aunt and uncle alone), any of them, except the one in the middle that stood taller than all the rest.

_ Shmi Skywalker  _

_ Mother. Wife. Free Woman.  _

Anakin remembered the tears that had fallen from his face as he used Cliegg’s small laser to etch the words into the stone. Padmé had offered to help when it was clear his tears were only coming faster and obscuring his eyesight, but he refused.  _ He _ had to do it- no one else. 

_ I wasn’t strong enough. But I promise I won’t fail again.  _

Those words rang out in his head like the sharp tolling of iron bells. 

“Oh, mom,” Anakin croaked, “I have done  _ nothing _ but fail you.”

Anakin fell to his knees in front of his mother’s tomb. He felt nineteen again, freshly raw from the loss of his mother and ashamed at his betrayal of the Jedi Code; confused and feeling utterly alone in the galaxy. 

Some similar emotions were spreading through him now, but it was all overshadowed by the horror he knew his mother would feel if she could see him now, could see what he’d done to those he loved, and to those he didn’t even know. There wasn’t a corner of the galaxy Anakin hadn’t terrorized and since he had come back to himself on the Death Star, it was as if every one of those atrocities was sitting on his shoulders. He was collapsing under the weight of his sins and he so desperately wanted to let them compress him smaller and smaller until he was nothing more than a blip in the vast universe. 

Anakin felt the space where tears should have been. 

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” he whispered into the ground. 

“You should be.”

Anakin whipped around so fast, he lost his balance and landed on his butt in the sand. 

Behind him, shimmering like a hologram, was his mother. She didn’t look like the last time he saw her, dying and covered in injuries, but like the young woman he left behind when he began his journey as a Jedi. She wore a simple tunic, and her hair was braided in a way he only ever saw her do for special occasions. 

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Was he dead?

“No,” his mother said, practically reading his thoughts, “you’re not dead.”

“Then, how- how are you here?” 

His mother just shrugged casually, taking a step toward where he was still sitting in the sand. “The Force chose me all those years ago to be the mother of it’s favorite child, and for some reason it’s allowing me to speak to you now. I’ve learned not to ask questions about it, I’m usually just more confused after.”

Ever since the day he left Tatooine, he had wanted to talk to his mother again. But now that the Force had given him this gift he didn’t deserve, Anakin didn’t know what to say. He was so ashamed. 

“Mom,” he began, “I’m so sorry, I-I don’t-”

She held up a hand to cut him off. “I don’t need an apology from you.”

Anakin was silent. His mother was angry, and sad, and it was all his fault. She was right, words weren’t going to change anything. Neither would explanations, his mother had been watching it all from beyond the veil. He couldn’t talk his way out of her ire, nor would he try. He knew what he did. 

She took another few steps until she was close enough to kneel in front of him. She reached out a hand to touch the side of his helmet. It would pass right through if she tried to touch him, and even if it didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to feel her touch through the mask anyway.

“I wish I could see your eyes,” she said, softly, gazing into the opaque lens of his helmet. 

“I’m sorry,” Anakin said again, lamely. He didn’t know how to do anything else but apologize. 

“After I died,” his mother began, ignoring his apology, “I watched you, every second that I could. Which was all of them, really, I had nothing else to do in the afterlife. And every day, my heart wept for you.”

She looked so sorrowful, Anakin stayed quiet, sensing she wasn’t finished.

“You were not happy. And I do not mean you were sad every day, all day- I watched you experience great moments of happiness and joy. You did such unbelievably amazing things and you loved so deeply, but there was something, maybe only something a mother would see, that wasn’t allowing you to feel wholly content in life. Not as a Jedi, and certainly not as a Sith.”   


_ It was you,  _ he thought,  _ I felt so guilty about leaving you behind. About letting you die. _

Again, his mother was shaking her head as if she could hear his thoughts. 

“I know it is because you blame yourself for my death,” she stated, “but you must know I have never thought it your fault. I know you won’t believe that, and if you need me to forgive you formally, I’ll say it: I forgive you.”

Anakin closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, and was rewarded with the cool breeze of his mother’s presence. It felt like being a child again, curled up beside his mother in their shared bed, talking about their day and wishing on the stars they could see through the small window in their hut. 

“I can’t, however, forgive you for the things you did as Darth Vader. It isn’t because I don’t want to, but because they were not done to me. You must ask forgiveness from the galaxy and those you have wronged if you are seeking exoneration from them.”

“I’m not,” Anakin said, “the things I have done are too unspeakable.”

“They are. But if you intend to live in this galaxy again, it’s what you must do.”

“I-,” he stuttered, swallowing the lump in his throat, “I honestly didn’t. I meant to die on that station.”   


“I know, but you survived. It seems you have a son just as stubborn as you were, and who loves just as deeply. And a daughter, who may never like you, but loves her brother dearly and would hate you even more if you abandoned him.”   


Luke, the sun that his planet now rotated around. 

Leia, the moon that was shadowed to him, but who’s pull still kept him fully in orbit.

“I’ve watched them, too, and they’re a blessing. You should be proud.”   


“I am.” 

“Then,” his mother said standing up, “you must return to them. Help them build the galaxy you will be proud to leave behind when you go. It is not your time, the Force isn’t done with you yet.”   


“But I’m so tired, mom,” he whispered, standing up with her. He was so much taller than her now. 

“Too bad,” his mother said without sympathy. “You have children to help and a galaxy to restore. Then, when it is your time, you may rest.”   


Anakin just nodded. He wouldn’t argue with her.

“There are so many people waiting to see you again.”   


Anakin winced. He was pretty sure everyone who was waiting to see him, he had had a hand in killing. But still, there were so many people he wanted to talk to. If the Force let him be with them all, he would spend the next millenia trying to make amends. 

“Now go,” his mother said, smiling at him. “Your son is still recovering, but he is currently trying to evade his medics and sneak off in a ship to find you. We can’t have that.”

There had been a nagging at the back of his mind for the past few hours, he figured it was his son trying to get his attention. 

In the silence, Anakin gave his mother another long look. He wasn’t ready to leave her yet. Sensing this, she stepped forward again and Anakin hunched over so that he was almost her height, knowing what she was trying to do. He closed his eyes and pretended they were actually pressing their foreheads together the way they used to when they were saying good-bye in the morning. 

“I love you, Ani, I always have. Through everything, you never lost my love,” his mother’s voice caressed him. “You will have it forever.”

“I love you,” he whispered back.

But she was gone, Anakin knew it before he opened his eyes. Her presence faded slowly and then Anakin was alone. 

Except he wasn’t, Luke was still tugging at the back of his mind, trying to get his father to respond. 

Anakin didn’t, not yet, he still had a few more things to do before he went back to his children. But he would, soon. His love for them was so strong, he wouldn’t be able to stay away for long. 

He started taking long strides back toward his ship, ready to leave Tatooine. Every time he left, he was sure he would never come back, yet fate kept pushing him back this dustball.

Maybe he would be back one day. 

  
  



	10. Day 10: Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Ahsoka are back on Coruscant after a long stint on the front lines of the Clone Wars. Padmé invites them to what should be a relaxing dinner.

“Are you sure I’m not crashing some sort of date?” 

Anakin leveled Ahsoka with an unamused glare. 

“Senator Amidala and I are not dating. This is just a dinner between two old friends who wanted to catch up,” he replied, casually. Ahsoka didn’t believe him for a moment. She didn’t know what was up between the two of them, it had been going on way before she hit the scene, but she was definitely sure they were something more than could be considered just ‘old friends.’

The elevator in Padmé’s apartment dinged as it reached her floor and Anakin motioned, politely, for her to exit first. Ahsoka obliged and continued down the hall toward the familiar door. Anakin and Ahsoka actually came to Padmé’s for dinner, or tea, quite regularly when they were on Coruscant. It was nice to have somewhere outside of the Jedi Temple that Ahsoka could go to just relax after the violence of the battlefield. Sometimes even Obi-wan would join them, and when they were all four together, that's when it really felt like everything was complete.

Ahsoka could feel Anakin practically vibrating with excitement behind her as they neared Padmé’s apartment. The two of them had been off-world for a long stint, almost five months of unbroken time on the front lines. That was a long time to be in battle and she had been relieved that after a decisive victory on Vath, the Council had recalled them for a much needed break. 

Usually, on their first night back on Coruscant, Anakin and Ahsoka had a tradition of ordering Dex’s Diner takeout and watching something trashy on the holovid, so Ahsoka had been surprised when she’d entered their common space and saw Anakin dressed to leave. 

_ “Padmé has to leave tomorrow for Naboo,” he explained, staring into the reflective surface of the tea kettle on the small burner and trying to straighten his perpetually messy hair. “She doesn’t know if she’ll be back before the Council sends us out again.” _

_ “So we aren’t getting burgers, I guess then?” Ahsoka wasn’t upset, they would just get them tomorrow. She could eat in the Temple kitchens tonight.  _

_ But Anakin looked at her, horrified, and she realized he had forgotten about their tradition and was now feeling badly about abandoning her. _

_ “It’s okay,” she quickly assured him, “we can get take-out another night. I can see if Barriss wants to hang-out. I haven’t seen her in months.” _

_ Anakin didn’t look satisfied with that.  _

_ “Snips, I’m sorry I forgot.” He pursued his lips in thought for a moment before offering, “come to dinner with me at Padmè’s, she’d love to see you. She always makes way too much food, I’m sure she won’t mind.” _

_ “Oh no, I don’t want to intrude.” _ _   
_

_ “Nonsense! Padmé loves you,” Anakin said, making Ahsoka blush, “we can still watch something trashy on the holovid later. Padmé claims not to like them but I know she records them all. She’ll have a great selection of films to choose from.” _

_ “Are you sure?” _

_ Anakin stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulder.  _

_ “I want you to come,” he said earnestly, looking her in the eye. Anakin’s eye contact was always so direct, so deep, it never failed to put Ahsoka at ease.  _

Ahsoka went to knock on Padmé’s door, but Anakin slid past her and just pushed it open like he lived there. 

“Padmé?” Anakin called as they entered the foyer. “Ahsoka and I are here!”

There was a flurry of movement from the kitchen and then Padmé appeared, looking as beautiful and well put together as Ahsoka was accustomed to seeing her. 

And she only had eyes for Anakin. She crossed the floor to him, and he met her half way. They shared a hug that felt so private, Ahsoka had to look away. 

It only lasted a moment, and then Padmé was turning toward her and pulling Ahsoka into a tight hug. 

“I’m so glad you two are home, safe and sound,” she said into Ahsoka’s collarbone. “Did you get taller while you were away? You’re almost my height now!”

Ahsoka laughed as she pulled back from Padmé’s hug. 

“It’s all the green vegetables I make her eat. Without me, I think she’d eat space junk for every meal.” Anakin called over his shoulder as he moved toward the kitchen. 

Padmé rolled her eyes as she looped her arm through Ahsoka’s and pulled her toward where Anakin had disappeared to. 

“You’re the one who keeps licorice whips in his cabin. I can hear the bag crinkling at night from my room, you know? You aren’t that slick, Skyguy.”

Anakin waved a hand at her flippantly as he examined the food steaming away on the counter. He reached to grab something with his fingers, but Padmé was quicker and slapped his hand away before he could try.

“Don’t stick your fingers in the food, get a plate,” she admonished, handing him one of the glass plates she had gotten out for them. She handed one to Ahsoka as well. “I hope you like seafood, it’s what I already had planned for Ani and I.”

“I love it,” she replied, moving to fix herself a plate. 

It was comfortable to move around each other in the kitchen, like they did it every day. Padmé and Anakin bickered like an old married couple, but there was no malice in their words. Only the kind of teasing that was permitted between long time friends. Ahsoka remembered feeling intimidated by that when they had first started to hang out as a group. She was still unsure if 

Anakin really wanted her as a Padawan, and feeling insecure about her place at the temple. 

But Padmé had swooped right in and made her feel welcome immediately.

“ _ It’s nice to have another girl around,” she shared, “plus, I can teach you how to push all of Anakin’s buttons to get what you want.” _

They had become fast friends after that, to all of their delight. 

Dinners like this, with them all seated at one end of Padmé’s dining room table, laughing and catching up, felt like being with family. 

“Anakin,” Padmé said, coming back to the table after excusing herself to the kitchen for a moment. She had a bottle of something in her hand and three crystal glasses. “The new senator from the Krellian System gave a bunch of us bottles of wine bottled on his home planet as a thank you for being so helpful when she first arrived. I thought we could share it?”   


“Of course,” he said, as she sat back down. “Although, I can’t help but notice you have three glasses and not two.”

Padmé shrugged. “Ahsoka is almost at the age of responsibility, I figured with us here she could try a sip as well. In celebration that you’re finally home.” 

“Technically on Shili, I’m already of age,” Ahsoka added, helpfully. She shared a devilish look with Padmé. 

Anakin looked between the two of them for a moment before sighing and giving in. 

“Only half a glass, Snips, and then you’re drinking milk for the rest of the night.”

Ahsoka wrinkled her nose at the thought but didn’t say anything as Padmé passed her a crystal glass barely half full with dark purple wine. She lifted the glass and swirled it like she’d seen adults do at fancy gala’s sometimes when they wanted to look like they knew more than they did about the alcohol. Anakin barked out a laugh at her antics and accepted his glass from Padmé, as well. 

“To your safe return,” Padmé said, lifting her glass in a toast. “And to the swift and peaceful end to this war.”   


T hey clinked glasses and Ahsoka took a sip of her wine first while Anakin and Padmé watched her expectantly. They were probably hoping she would pull a face at it’s taste. 

And she did, but not because it was too strong or tart, but because it tasted like drinking sharp metal. 

“How is it, Snips?” Anakin asked lightly, but Ahsoka couldn’t respond. 

She felt light-headed and weak all of a sudden. She dropped her glass and it shattered on the stone floors. Ahsoka clutched at her throat as she found that she was rapidly losing the ability to breathe clearly. 

“Snips? Snips!” 

The room broke out into chaos after that but Ahsoka barely registered any of it. She was feeling faint and strangely peaceful. 

She blinked, and suddenly she was laying on the floor while Anakin cradled her head in his lap and slapped her cheeks lightly. 

“It’s okay, Ahsoka, everything is okay. The paramedics are on their way and they’ll be able to help.” His face was blurry, but Ahsoka could tell by his voice that he was scared. 

She couldn’t answer, her throat was too swollen. She sent confusion along their bond. 

“You were poisoned, Snips. Well, technically, it looks like someone was trying to poison Padmé. You just happened to drink the wine before she did.”

Ahsoka closed her eyes and listened to him talk. She was so tired of gasping for air… 

“Ahsoka? Ahsoka, open your eyes!” Anakin was yelling, and she wanted to ask him to keep his voice down.

Her awareness was fading and the last thing Ahsoka heard was Anakin calling her name and the faint sounds of sirens. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so after this- the paramedics save the day, Ahsoka survives, and Anakin and Padmé go apeshit on the man who poisoned her. The End

**Author's Note:**

> I've never apart of a daily prompt collection before, so here goes nothing! I hope you enjoy it :) 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @laheyy 
> 
> -Mara


End file.
